Rotary dumping apparatus.



E. RAM'SAY.

Ronny oumrm APPARATUS.

APPLICATIDN FILED JULY 9. 191?.

PIGIIB 2066.23, 1919.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERSKINE RAMSAY, 0F BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

ROTARY DUMPING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nec. 2s, 1919.

yApplication flied July 9, 1917. Serial No. 179,350.

Y To all 'whom it may concern:

-erably side by side in separate tipple tracks and which may each be designed to dump one or any greater number of cars at a time.

My invention contemplates du'mping the cars of a trip without uncoupling them from each other and with or without unf coupling them from the motor or haulage cable by which they are drawn from the mine. Each tipple track is long enough to hold an entire trip of cars at either end of its respective rotary dump to the end that "theloaded trip may come to rest thereon before being dumped and may still be held on the tipple track after being dum ed, this arrangement permitting each loaden trip to be received dumped andheld on its respectivo tipple track until everything is ready for .its return into the mine.

My invention also contemplates providin r a greater number of tipple tracks an dumps than there are mine tracks, so that by providing a haulage means capable of divertin the trips onto the desired tipple tracks, t e empty trip or tri s can be returned to the mine while the oaded trip or trips each under the control of any suitable mechanism is boing dumped.v This arrangement is peculiarly adapted for obtaining the maximum output from a single mine track, it beingcontemplated that two or more parallel tipple tracks shall cach connect to each mine track and, where a motor is not used,l that a separate haula cable and drum shall be provided for eac tipple trackand dump and each adapted to move the trips into and out of the mine. A further advantage of. this arrangement is that lit enables the tipple operator to utilize "the haulage means which brought out the last lili loaded trip to handle the latter over the track scales, when used, and through the dump, while the other haulage means are ,emp o red in handling the other trip or trips in the mines. lVhen a drum and cable 00 haulage means are used, this involves the arrangement of remote control means by` which the operator at the scale house may control both haulage systems as well as the mechanisms for weighing and dumping the trips. Where it is not desired to use the haulage means to handle the trip when being dumped. any suitable car s tting or feed mechanism may be employe and provision made for its control by the dump operator. In order that weighing the cars may be most conveniently arranged for,`I provide adjacent to the dumps one or more\ track scales. my preferred arrangement being a scale carrying sections of both tipple 7l tracks so that a car on either track may be weighed thereon. If desired, where the du|nps.are capable of handling more than one car at a time. the number of these track Ascales may he increased to correspond with the number of cars that can be handled at one time bv the dump. thus permitting the coupled trip to be moved to advance one or more cars at a time into the dump and while such cars are being dumped a correspondiner number are being` weighed, the swivel couplings permitting these independent operations to be simultaneously conducted without either interfering| with the other.

The general objects and purposes of my invention Thriving been briefly described, reference fis made to the accompanying drawings 'which disclose an illustrative embodiment of' the invention, it. being understood however that the principles involved Il i may be widely varied to moet' difercnt operating conditions.

Figure 1 presents in plan view e tipple layout for a single mine track having two tpple tracks and a separategdump and haulage cable for each tipple-tlack.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 3`3 of Fig.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken 0n the line 4.-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a modification of the rotary dump structure.

Fig. 6 is a. sectional detail view of the valve controlling -the drum brake.

Fig. 7 is a detail view of an illustrative control apparatus for one drum brake.

Fi 8 is a detail view of a swivel coupling for t e cars.'

Similar reference numerals refer to lar parts throughout the drawings.

As illustrated, the mine track 1 emerges and connects to two parallel tipple tracks 2 and 3 which extend over the tipple structure l to the rotary dumps 5 and 6 carrying track sections 7, the track sections 7 on the dump o forming a part of the tipple track 3, and those in the rotary dump (3 forming a part of the tipple track 2. The tracks and 3 extend beyond the dumps, first passing over two scale platforms 9 and 1() and then continuing a sullicient distance to receive all the cars 11 of a trip. The cars 11 are shown as ordinary mine cars having swivel couplings 12 of anyvell known type and the trips that are received on the traclr 2 are handled by means of a cable 13 and drum 14 while the trips that are received on the track 3 are handled hy a cable 15 and drum 1G.l The drums 14 and 1G may be of any ordinary standard design, preferably being;v both driven by a motor 17 which, through suitable gearing. drives a countershaft 18 carrying gears which mesh with and drive the spur gears 19 and 20 on the shafts of drums 14 and 16, respectively. Each haul age drum is provided with a lirake drum 21, see Fig. 7, with-which a brake hand 22 coacts, the band being controlled by a brake lever 23 and link 24 in the manner well iinderstood in the art.

In Fig. 8 1 have illustrated a formal type of swiveled coupling comprising links l2* which are connected hy a swiveled headed pin 12 so that they are free to turn relatively about the latter as an axis and permit one car to rotate freely relatively to the adjacent cars. Any other type of swiveled couplings may be'employed.

It being desirable to provide means whereby both the engineer at the drums and the tipple man at the scales can control the drums -14 and 16 through their respective lnxike. mechanisms, I have designed the following; mechanism for each drum as illus trrffvemerely of one means hy which such ci V.trolcan he effected. Referring to Fi 71 the brake lever 23 is connected by a linl 5 to a lever 20 having a series of adjustment holes so that the point of attachment of the link 25 can be varied. This lever has a mamas fixed pivot 27 at one end and acounterweight 28 at the other en d, and at an intermediate point is connected to a piston rod 29 operating in a cylinder 30. Air, steam or other pressure is supplied through a pipe 31 to a three way rotary valve 32 which in one position delivers the pressureto a (pipe 33 leading to the bottoni of the cylin er 30 and in the other position connects the cylinder to an exhaust pipe mitted to the cylinder, the lever 26 is raised 4by the piston rod 29 and the brake band 22 is released. When the pressure is exhausted from the cylinder, the weight 28 applies the brake band and exerts a sullicientlv ioivcrful leverage theicon to frictionally hold the drum. The valve 32 is operated hy a valve stein 35 which has a handle 3G at its upper end and a pulley 3T made fast thereon at an intermediate point. An endlessv sprocket chain, cable or suitable flexible connection 3H is passed about thel pulley whence it passes around a double pulley 38 to a haridwliccl or other operating means 3l) in convenient reach of the man at the scale house. As shown, thechain is inadc fast by any suitable fastcnings such as 3T at one end to the pulley 37 and at the other end to the hand wheel 3), thus making its action positivo both to open and close Ihe valve and cnabling such valve to-he controlled either by the engineer at the drums or hy the scale man on the tipplc. Thiscontrol mechanism is duplicated for each drum to provide for inde iendent control thereof.

lach scale platform 9 or 10, as shown in Fig. 4, extends across and carries sections of both tracks 2 and, which is my prefer-:cd arrangement, hut which is not essential as separate scales may he used for each track, or other types of scales well known in the art m: y he substituted. may he supported bv any suitablescalemechansm 40 which, through suitable connections, imparts motion to a scale beam formally` illustrated at 42 in Fig. l. These heams 42 are arranged side by side adj aeent to the hand wheels 39. The mechanism for controlling` each dump, which has been oniitted from this drawing as the same forms no special part of m p at invention, wil hecontrolled bya lleve 59 also conveniently arranged so that one man can control the operation of both dumps, both scales and both haulage drums.

The cars when received in each dump are held therein by a suitable hold-down mechanism 43. As shown in Fig. 3, these holddowns comprise iron straps riveted to the sides of the dump frame and angle irons riveted to the straps and adapted to engage the wheel hubs on the cars 1l.}In Fig. 5 the hold-downs 44 have angle irons adapted to engage the treads ofthe wheels.

As the cars are dumped their cimients fall 34. When Apressure is ad.

The scale platform into a hopper 45 from whih itis discher ed under the control of a reciprocatingfe er plate 46 onto l'the shaker screens 47 and 48, whence the lump coal passes by n chute 49 to a. conveyer belt 50 while the nut coal misses by n chute 51 to a conayer belt 52, A.nd the slack is delivered to a c belts` 50 and 52 and the chute 53 are adapted, as shown in Fig. 2, to deliver the different grades of coal to cars 55 on different railroad tracks 54 which are arranged so that three railway cars cnn be loaded at the same time with the different grades of coal or other minerals. The feeder 46 and the shaker screens may be of any standard construction and are driven by a motor 56 and suitable belt driven transmission machinery 57. In my preferred arrangement the tipple structure spans the trnckst, being supported on concrete columns or walls 58 on each side Aof the tracks. t

The operation of the particular embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings may be briefly described as follows A loaded trip, depending upon whether it .is lmndled by the cable 13 or 15 as it comes up from the mine on track 1, is diverted tothe tipple track 2 or 3. In Fi 1 the last load ed trip was handled by t e cable 13 and moved thereby on the tipple track 2 through the dump 6 and beyond the scales 9 and 10. The man at the dumpthen takes control of he trip and, oy manipulatinnr :the brake mechanism that controls the darum 14, he lowers the trip until the two end cars stand respectively on the scales 9 and 10 where they are weighed and then the tripis further lowered to bring the next two cars on the scales and the two end cars that have been weighed into the dump, which is then rotated either partly or wholly 'and the cars therein dumped without 'being unooupled from each other or from the curs on the scales. This operation is repented until the whole trip'has been weighed and dumped :1nd is waiting on the truck 2 belowthe dump. Meanwhile the cnhle 15 has drawn another trip from the mines. As soon as that comes up, it p'nsscs onto the tippletrnck .3. :ind the empty trip on tlv-nek 2 is then lowered in the mine by its cable 13. the trip on track 3 meanwhile being weighed und dumped and made ready for its return into the mine :is soon as truck 1 is elenr. It will' thus be seen that there nre practically no delays nt the tipple and it is possible for one tipple 1min to manipulate the scales and tlun'ips to handle the trips as fast ns they are received.

Tt will bemoted that `means other than nte 53. The' gravity may 'be employed on level tipples for moving the trips through the dump and that when I refer to rotary dumps I mean to include all types of dumps that rotate or pivot on an axis disposed parallel with the track and over `which the trip of cars can be passed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an `apparatus for dumping mineral, a plurality of tipplegtracks, 'a mine track connecting,` with the plurality of tipple tracks, a separate mine haulage cable and drum for each tipple 'track adapted to handle trips on the in i'ne track und spaced at least the length of the trip of cars to be dumped from the remote end of the dump, rotary dumps ,carrying portions of the tipple tracks, and control mechanism for the several haulages and dumps disposed adjacent to each other.

2. In an ep arntus for dumping mineral, a plurality olptipple tracks, a mine track connecting with the plurality of tipple tracks, a, separate cable and drum 'for each tipple track adapted to handle trips on the mine track, rotary dumps carrying intermediete portions of the tipple tracks, remote contro mechanism for the several drums disposed adjacent lto the rotary dumps, and scale mechanisms having their scale beams adjacent to said control mechanisms for thev drums.

3. In 'a ti ple mechanism for mine cnrs, a pluralitv oftipple tracks, a separate drum and cable for each tipple track, a lesser nuinber of mine tracks connected to said tipple tracks, the cable being adept-ed to handle trips on the mine tracks, independent 'rotary dumps carrying intermediate portions of the tipple tracks. remote control -nechnnisms for the drums adjacent to the dumps, n. weighing mechanism` and control means for the weighing mechanisms nml the dumps all juxtaposed to the control n'ieehnnisms for the drums. substantially as described.

4. `In n tipple mechanism formine cnrs. :t plurality of tipple tracks. c rotary d-nmp for @zich track carrying an intermediate portion of its respective tipple truck. n hzuilsg'o cable nml drum for enel of said tipple tracks which are spaced from the dumps at leest the length of thc trips of ears to he handled, :md n control mechanism for each drum which extends to :i point neer the dump.

In testimony whereof I nilix my signature.

ERSKINE RAMSAY.

Witness:

Norris WELSH. 

